Abstract 383: Trastuzumab deruxtecan resistance is associated with reduced responsiveness to topoisomerase inhibitors (payload resistance) but no reduction in sensitivity to HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors
Authors: Monique B. Nilsson, Alissa Poteete, Hibiki Udagawa, Xiaoxing Yu, Junqin He, Xiuning Le, John Heymach
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract Activating ERBB2 (HER2) mutations occur across multiple malignancies, and although mutational hotpots vary by disease, HER2 mutations most frequently occur in the tyrosine kinase domain. Among lung cancer patients, the most common HER2 mutation is the exon 20 insertion mutations, Y772dupYVMA, which accounts for over 30% of all HER2 mutations in lung cancer. Recent clinical testing of trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), a HER2 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), against HER2 mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) demonstrated a confirmed objective response of 55%, a median duration of response of 9.3 months, and a median overall survival of 17.8 months, which ultimately led to the recent approval of T-DXd for HER2 mutant NSCLC. Acquired resistance to targeted agents remains a major clinical challenge, and HER2-mutant patients that initially respond to T-DXd will eventually develop progressive disease. Thus, understanding mechanism of T-DXd resistance and identifying targeted agents that remain effective in cells with acquired T-DXd resistance is of great clinical importance. We generated Ba/F3 cells expressing the HER2 YVMA mutation and assessed sensitivity to HER2 targeting agents by Cell Titer Glo assay. HER2 YVMA cells were sensitive to the EGFR/HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) poziotinib and the HER2 ADC T-DXd. To generate HER2 ADC resistant cells, we cultured Ba/F3 HER2 YVMA cells in T-DXd continuously for 8 weeks at which point cells resumed rapid proliferation. Cell Titer Glo assay confirmed that Ba/F3 HER2 YVMA cells were sensitive to T-DXd with an IC50 of 195 μg/ml, whereas Ba/F3 HER2 YVMA T-DXd-resistant cells had an IC50 of greater than 1000 μg/ml. Notably, T-DXd resistant cells remained highly sensitive to the HER2 TKI poziotinib with an IC50 of 14 nM and 7.5 nM for T-DXd-resistant and parental cells, respectively. Moreover, T-DXd-resistant cells demonstrated reduced sensitivity to the topoisomerase inhibitor topotecan with an IC50 of 200 nM whereas parental cells had an IC50 of 66 nM, suggesting that acquired T-DXd resistance may be mediated by loss of sensitivity to the ADC payload. Collectively, these data demonstrate that HER2 TKIs such as poziotinib may retain anti-tumor cell activity in HER2 mutant tumor cells with acquired resistance to HER2 ADCs. Citation Format: Monique B. Nilsson, Alissa Poteete, Hibiki Udagawa, Xiaoxing Yu, Junqin He, Xiuning Le, John Heymach. Trastuzumab deruxtecan resistance is associated with reduced responsiveness to topoisomerase inhibitors (payload resistance) but no reduction in sensitivity to HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 383.